Kelly Link has been declared a “new wave fabulist.” I think I’ll settle for calling Link a fabulous writer and calling Jessica Winter a taxonomic new wanker. Why analyze a piece of fiction for its taxonomy when there’s plenty to unravel within the narrative?

Stephen Hawking’s next book will explain why we have a universe. The upshot: a number of quantum particles got involved in a poker game, one particle couldn’t pay out, and the result was an expansive universe to settle the debt.

Indie bookstores are fighting to stay alive. The main culprit appears to be Amazon. Not particularly new news, but a reminder nonetheless.